Tarnished Armor
by shadowtrickster93
Summary: Regulus' three rules when it comes to fairy tales. Just a random fic.


Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Harry Potter.

A/N: So this just popped out of nowhere. Random. It's pretty odd actually but I hope that you enjoy it. It's sort of a how-to guide of Regulus' for those who seek fairy tales. That person's in every one of us and is most definitely in him.

Please read and review! Enjoy!

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**Tarnished Armor**

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Fairy tales?

Please.

Muggle fairy tales always involve some sort of magic, always tell of evil witches and sorcerers, princes and princesses, eternal damnation for the wicked and a happily ever after for the virtuous, tales where good _always_ triumphs over evil. Real life is anything but that, whether you're a Muggle or a wizard. There are choices to be made, events that are out of your control and the line between good and evil is constantly blurred. And while we have magic in the Wizarding World, that doesn't mean we don't have problems and magic most certainly doesn't solve them. If anything, magic makes things more complicated. And just because we have magic, that doesn't mean that we don't have fairy tales of our own. The whole white knight in shining armor riding off into the sunset with his princess, the family with two and a half kids with the white picket fence, it's something everyone wants, especially in these times of danger and strife. Fairy tales are only for people who are not content with reality and trust me, there are a _lot_ of those. After all, even those who see life as a glass half full will always entertain the notion on what it would be like, if the glass were entirely full.

You want a fairy tale? You want a miracle? Well too bad, it's not just gonna fall down from the heavens. You're going to have to make one for yourself.

Which brings us to rule number one: You want a fairy tale, don't just sit back and wait for it to fall from the sky. Do something to make it happen. Take the Wizarding World for instance. No doubt about it, everyone's afraid of Voldemort. You'd be crazy not to be afraid of the guy. Everyday everyone (including me) hopes for a miracle, everyday everyone (maybe except his more loyal Death Eaters like Bella) hopes that for some unknown reason, he'll just collapse from a heart attack. Well my advice to them, although it is much, much easier said than done, is to do something about it. Want Voldemort to collapse from a heart attack? Place poison in his food! Recruit Severus Snape to your cause! Of course, not many have the guts or the resources to do that but my point is, if you want something to change, take an active stance about it. It's not the easiest thing in the world to do and rarely anyone does it. Most people just depend on others to do it for them. As for me, I'm still trying to figure out my role in all of this. All I know is that I don't want to serve Voldemort anymore.

So if you want to ride of into the sunset, I suggest you plan it carefully. Buy your armor ahead of time. Choose a sturdy wood when you're building that picket fence.

Rule number two: Realize that even if you do get your own happily ever after, (which is extremely rare and means that you are extremely lucky) it's not going to last forever. Nothing ever does. There's no such thing as perfection that lasts forever and let's admit it: Life wouldn't be nearly as interesting if everything were perfect. So let's say you do ride off into the sunset on a great white horse with the love of your life. Let's say that to her, you _are_ her very own knight in shining armor, or maybe even the other way around. But after some time, that armor will get tarnished, literally and figuratively. That great white horse of yours will get dirty and tired and it'll collapse after some time. You can't be riding into the sunset forever. The three of you (yes, include your fine white steed) will get hungry and sleepy and tired and come on, the sun will have to set sometime. The moon and the stars will come out to play and the sun will rise again in the morning. You have no control over that. Face facts. Face reality.

And how about that house with the two and half kids and the white picket fence? It's not going to last forever either. Your kids will grow up and go to Hogwarts, and they will graduate, hopefully get married someday and have kids of their own. No child will stay two and a half forever and no one would want them too. Parents will get tired of dealing with tantrums and answering their child's every whim and that child will tire of being that small forever. And I can assure you, that white picket fence won't last very long when your son discovers the joys of Quidditch and flying broomsticks. Face facts. Face reality.

But don't despair as this brings us to rule number three: Once you realize that your fairy tale isn't going to last forever, do something to remedy it (it's _always_ possible.). Take me for example. When I was younger, I always wished that things would stay the same. My brother, Sirius, and I wouldn't have to do anything but play all day and spend time with each other. Then he turned eleven and went to Hogwarts and got Sorted into Gryffindor (which angered every single person in my family. Even me, I think.) But I decided that despite the fact he was in Gryffindor, he was still my brother and he was happy, which was what counted right? So sure, on the outside, I didn't do anything to protect him from the rest of our family as I was never the strong one. During the holidays, everyone did nothing but criticize him whenever he was around or even when his name was brought up. He always used to get so worked up over what they said about him and what they told him about being a Black and all. It also didn't help that he had a quick and fiery temper. So whenever he was done fighting with the rest of the family and he came into our room, I would always find a way to try to make him feel better, like tell him funny stories or suggest pranks we could play on Kreacher. We couldn't exactly spend a lot of time together in Hogwarts, at least not as much time as we used to spend with one another as kids since he was in Gryffindor and I was in Slytherin. So when we were home, when it was just the two of us, I did anything and everything to take his mind off things. Anything and everything to make it seem like we were still kids and nothing else mattered. Sadly, as we grew older, we fought more and more and more. Of course, that doesn't really matter now since he ran away from home and he's in the Order with the rest of his friends whereas I'm a Death Eater (which is why he refuses to associate himself with me). But still, those times we spent together were my ways of recreating our childhood, recreating a fairy tale, no matter how fleeting. Our relationship was never the same after he got Sorted, but everyday I still hold on to the memory of what it once was.

So if your armor's tarnished, clean it. If your horse is tired, let him rest for a while. If your kids are acting out, talk to them, understand them. And if your picket fence is broken, just fix it. Maybe paint it blue. It won't be the same as it was originally, but you'll be able to hold on to the memory of what it once was. I'm not saying it'll get better or that it'll get worse because really, it could go either way. The neighbors might hate the color of blue you've chosen and decide that it was better off being white. How it all turns out depends on how you choose to fix it.

My own fairy tale is actually pretty simple: I get out of the Death Eaters alive (that's the main part!) and I somehow find a way to bring Voldemort down, if only slightly. I realize it's pretty much impossible but the most daunting task for me would be to try and mend my relationship with my brother. Believe you me, you would know what I'm talking about if you knew my brother.

There are some people who spend their entire lives searching for that happily ever after and give up when they cannot find it and there are others who never stop, who search for it until their dying day. There are cynics and optimists, pessimists and those who always see life as a glass half full. There are those who are content with what they have and never seek it and there are those who never seek it either but are forever unhappy with the lot Fate has cast for them. Will you be a bystander or a participant? Which person we choose to be is our own personal choice. Heck, I'm still trying to figure it out.

But if you're still hell bent on riding off into the sunset, there _is_ a way for you to save yourself a lot of time and trouble.

Honestly?

I suggest you _Apparate_.

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**FIN**

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Thanks for reading! I realize it wasn't that humorous but I just hoped you enjoyed... please review! Thanks!


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